Tag Archive: Brad Garrett

A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and friends will return this summer in a hybrid live action and animated drama, Christopher Robin. Don’t confuse this coming film with last year’s Goodbye, Christopher Robin, which starred Margot Robbie, Domhnall Gleeson, and Kelly Macdonald. Directed by Quantum Solace director Marc Forster, this new film actually features Winnie the Pooh and friends, along with a great cast of genre favorites: Ewan McGregor (Star Wars series, Brassed Off) as A.A. Milne’s son Christopher Robin Milne, plus Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who), Hayley Atwell (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and Bronte Carmichael (Darkest Hour), and voicing the classic characters, Jim Cummings as Pooh and Tigger, Peter Capaldi as Rabbit, Toby Jones as Owl, Sophie Okonado as Kanga, Nick Mohammed as Piglet, and Brad Garrett as Eeyore.

When you listen to the voices of the famous furry friends from the Hundred Acre Wood, you may be surprised at the familiarity of the voices. Actor Jim Cummings has been voicing Winnie the Pooh in animated films for 30 years, and he and the rest of the cast echo the voices in the classic Disney film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which premiered 41 years ago on March 11, 1977. Back then Sterling Holloway created the familiar voice of Pooh fans think of today, Paul Winchell voiced Tigger, and Clint Howard (now playing in Solo: A Star Wars Story) was the voice of Roo (and Sebastian Cabot served as narrator).

Many of the visual effects come from Framestore, an effects company that has worked on several films with creatures and humans mixed together, including Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy, the sorcery sparks of Doctor Strange, the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, the other superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War, Colossus in Deadpool 2, the beasts in the Fantastic Beasts series, the future cities in Blade Runner 2049 (where the firm picked up an Academy Award), and magical things in the approaching Mary Poppins Returns movie.

This latest version of Pooh and Friends appears closer to the Peter Pan tie-in movie Hook–with an adult taking the lead role instead of kids–than previous Pooh incarnations. Take a look at a very happy trailer for Christopher Robin:

Later this year classic characters from three well-known children’s stories will return in theatrical adaptations. A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and friends will return in Christopher Robin. Deja vu? Don’t confuse this with last year’s film Goodbye, Christopher Robin, which starred Margot Robbie, Domhnall Gleeson, and Kelly Macdonald. This new film actually features Winnie the Pooh and friends, along with a great cast of genre favorites: Ewan McGregor (Star Wars series, Brassed Off), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who) and Hayley Atwell (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and voicing the classic characters, Jim Cummings (Pooh), Peter Capaldi (Rabbit), Toby Jones (Owl), and Brad Garrett (Eeyore). The film is directed by Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace).

The Grinch is back in a third major film incarnation from Dr. Seuss’s original book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. This time Benedict Cumberbatch replaces the voice of the big Christmas baddie made famous by Boris Karloff in 1966 and reprised by Jim Carrey in 2000. This version is titled Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch. This animated version incorporates current digital technology to provide a very modern looking update. The trailer looks great.

And also for Christmas Mary Poppins is back in a sequel to the original 1964 classic that starred Julie Andrews as Mary and Dick Van Dyke as Bert the chimney sweep and bank president Mr. Dawes. Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) takes on the lead role in Mary Poppins Returns, co-starring Meryl Streep (The Post), Colin Firth (The Kings’ Speech), Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote), Emily Mortimer (Hugo, The Kid), David Warner (Tron, Time After Time), Ben Whishaw (James Bond franchise), Julie Walters (Harry Potter franchise), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Moana), and Dick Van Dyke, this time as Dawes, Jr.

Check out these previews for Christopher Robin, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, and Mary Poppins Returns: